Turning one room into two – for free

Maybe you have one big room that does not fit your needs just right; or maybe you need to separate one room to create individual living spaces for your two children; or maybe, you want to create a guest room, and leave some space for a small home office.

Whichever the case, the fact is that you can separate you own space, without having to hire somebody to do the work for you. Assuming that the team of professional workers would take about 3, 4 days to finish the job and would require $100 a day, by doing the work by yourself, you would save an estimated $300, $400. At this rate, it is worth only to consider the possibility of separating the room by yourself. Here are some things you should know:

1Correctly measure up the space you intend to separate and make a plan of how you would want it to look in the end.

2Consider the things you would want to fit in the new rooms; make sure that there is enough space for them or re-adjust your plans.

3Look at the windows. If you want to construct two living/ working spaces, then you should know that it is imperative to have windows on both spaces. If however you are looking to construct a living/ working space and a closet, dressing room and so on, then you do not need a window for the second chamber.

4Consider the ways in and out of the rooms. Are there doors or should you have to make new ones? Would you like for the rooms to be interconnected or not?

5Clear out the room, or at least gather all furniture and other things in a place where they are not in your way; cover them so that they do not get dirty; also cover the floors to protect them.

6Mark the places where the false walls should go. It is generally possible to actually build a new brick wall, but for indoor solutions, the false walls are the best alternative.

7Set the false walls in place, but do not fix them just yet. Just see how they feel and how they look. This is the time for you to make any necessary adjustments.

8Once you decide on the right positioning of the false walls, fix them with nails and bolts. Make sure the walls are adequately fixed; however corny it might sound, you need to be firm and gentle while working with the walls, as you need them to fix right, but you do not want to break them (they are only limitedly resilient).

9Once you get the false walls installed, it’s time to move on to the doors. If both rooms happen to have doors connecting them to the rest of the house, then you’re set. If however only one of them has a door, then you’re in for some more work. You could bring down the brick wall at the end of the second room to install a new door, but my suggestion is that you make the two rooms connect. Cut out the false wall in the shape of the door and install a metallic frame; set in place a light door.

10Paint the false walls or cover them with tapestry – it is really coming back in style.

11Arrange the things in the rooms and voila: your two new spaces/rooms.